


you bring clarity

by hrhmadiganrenee



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23645923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrhmadiganrenee/pseuds/hrhmadiganrenee
Summary: Jack sneaks away during his wedding reception
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 4
Kudos: 126





	you bring clarity

Jack pressed his hands into the cool tile floor in the bathroom. Eyes shut and breathing deep, he attempted to ground himself, remembering where he was. 

It was his wedding day, and he was overwhelmed with emotion. He let the weight of the day consume him right there. 

This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life, and it was. God, it was his happiest day by a long shot. Becoming Bitty’s husband and being surrounded by everyone he cared about in the world was cause for celebration, yet here he was on the floor in the handicapped stall. 

Jack put his head in his hands and tried to drown out the music, some pop song he couldn’t recognize. Even after being with Bitty for nearly four years, he still wasn’t very good at remembering his songs that would come on the radio. Bitty chirped him endlessly, making him guess the songs that would come on the radio during their frequent drives to and from Providence and Samwell. Jack would rattle off the first name that popped into his head, which would always result in a sarcastic rant from Bitty. Sometimes Jack said the wrong song on purpose, just to listen to him make an ordeal of Jack’s lack of pop culture knowledge. 

Jack wonders if Bitty knows this song. 

Jack wonders if Bitty’s looking for him. He left quietly, hugging the wall on his way out with the hopes of not being spotted. The alcohol, the noise, and the people, was like Satan's trifecta, making Jack’s hands shake and breath quicken. Sometimes it’s all too much for Jack, too heavy, and he just needed a moment to himself. A moment to breathe. 

Silence. 

He doesn’t think anyone saw him leave. With the music blaring, and Bitty and Holster in the center of the chaos, showing off an old dance from their kegster days, he was able to make his escape fairly easily. That doesn’t make him feel any less guilty. 

Jack knows that he should be out there, celebrating with his best friends. He wishes it was that easy for him, but nothing has ever been that easy for Jack. His emotions often get the best of him.

On the floor Jack is silently praying that Bitty doesn’t know that he’s gone. He feels ashamed that he’s not there with him, but Bitty shouldn’t have to suffer on his wedding day, just because the noise is getting to Jack. 

Parties like this have never been his thing, even when they’re for him. 

So he stays there in his spot on the floor, counting the tiles, and trying to regain the courage to go back out there. Jack would take the moon from the sky for Bitty if he asked, and then some, but he just can’t make himself get up and open the door. 

Jack left his phone back at the head table, so he doesn’t know how long he’s been in the bathroom when he hears the door open.

He keeps his head down, not caring who it is. If he stays still enough, maybe the person won’t even notice he’s there. 

He hears the footsteps stop, and then a faint knock on the stall door. 

Jack didn’t care to lock the door on his way in, allowing the knocker to quietly step in. 

“Mind if I join you?” A small voice says. 

Jack looks up to find Bitty looking at him with a soft smile on his face. His tie hung loose around his neck, and his usually perfect hair was thoroughly mussed. It was awfully endearing. If Jack wasn’t in his current state, he’d have to chirp Bitty for looking so disheveled during a formal occasion. 

Jack gives him a nod, and Bitty sits down opposite of him. 

Bitty doesn’t pry, and Jack is grateful. One of the things he loves the most about Bitty is that he knows when to ask what’s wrong, and when to let Jack breathe. He doesn’t expect anything from Jack, just lets his presence be a reassurance, and during times like these, it’s what he needs most. 

Bitty always knows what he needs most. 

They revel in the silence. Not touching, just soaking in the moment. It’s a while before anyone speaks. 

“Mama said the dessert table ran out of maple tarts, but she managed to save you one before those hockey heathens ate them all. Lord, the way they ripped into those desserts was almost as bad as when I brought y’all a pie at that first kegster freshman year! Not like you’ve never had one before, but she knows the maple tarts are your favorite.” Bitty says, offering him a smile. Jack appreciated Bitty not ripping into him about Jack hiding in the bathroom during their wedding, not like he ever would. 

“Hah, I’ll have to take her up on that.” Jack replies, soft but amused. 

“Mister, you better! Mama did not spend 3 days whipping up those delicious treats for you and I not to have any! She will be floored if she finds out that her new son-in-law didn’t have a single thing the entire night. Heck, so will I!” Bitty cries. Jack laughs a little bit, relaxing back against the wall. 

Jack sees some of the tension leave Bitty’s shoulders when Jack laughs. He didn’t even realize it was there in the first place. Bitty still doesn’t pry. 

“I’m surprised you found me. I tried to be sneaky.” Jack says. 

“You didn’t have to be sneaky. You could’ve told me you needed a breather, Jack.” Bitty sighs. 

Jack sat up to look at Bitty. “I didn’t want to ruin the night for you. You were having so much fun out there with our friends, I didn’t want to take that away from you because I was letting the noise get to me.” He replies. Bitty leans his head against the stall door and inhales. 

“C’mere cutie” Bitty says. Jack laughs quietly and slides across to sit next to him. Bitty takes his hand and squeezes. Jack leans his head on Bitty’s shoulder. They sit there for a while. He hears Bitty softly humming the song playing through the door, and he breathes. 

Bitty breaks the silence, as he usually does. “You know tonight is about both of us, right? My happiness tonight is not any more important than yours. I appreciate your effort, but you should know by now that I really only care about being with you.” He turns his head to kiss Jack’s forehead. 

Jack turns his head into Bitty’s neck. “I know Bits, everything just got to me. It’s just- It’s crazy out there and I just needed to leave for a second. I never wanted to leave you though. I hope you weren’t looking for me for very long.” He sighs. Bitty wraps him up in his arms, and that makes Jack smile. His arms don’t wrap all the way around, but he does his best, and Jack laughs as Bitty maneuvers himself to try and make them comfortable. 

Jack lets himself be held. Every minute that Bitty is here makes him feel better. He’s glad he’s not alone anymore. 

“Holster and I were dancing to our song, and then that DJ decided to play the Cha Cha Slide! Shitty got all excited, yelling ‘brahs! Where’s Jack? This song has the dance steps in the motherfucking lyrics! There’s no way in hell he’s getting out dancing with his best man for this masterpiece of a song’ and I’m thinking ‘so help me god, if Jack doesn’t dance this monstrosity with Shitty I will never hear the end of it’ and so I’m bobbing and weaving through all these people to try and find you, but to no avail! I told Shitty that you were talking to mama, and that shut him right up. After that, that one song that we danced to at the bar a few months ago came on, and I was looking all around for you, and that’s when I put two and two together and now I’m here.” Jack stares at Bitty with wide eyes. 

“If I’m being honest though? I’d much rather be in here then out there anyways.” Bitty says, looking up at Jack. “being in this stall’s got it’s perks.” Bitty winks. 

Jack pulls Bitty into his lap and holds him close. “Thank you.” Jack whispers into his hair. 

Bitty pulls back and settles his hands on the sides of Jack’s face. He kisses his forehead, then his eyes, and the tip of his nose, and his chin, and both his cheeks. Bitty presses their foreheads together, and they hold each other. They aren’t alone anymore. 

“Hi.” Jack breathes. 

“Hey, handsome.” Bitty smirks. Jack laughs. 

“I’m sorry for ditching you out there. If it’s any consolation, even if you’d found me I wouldn’t have done the Cha Cha slide. I don’t even know why the DJ would play that. That song is horrible.” Bitty giggles into Jack’s shoulder. 

“Honey, I don’t blame you. In all honesty, I needed a break too. If you hadn’t come back here first, it probably woulda been you finding me. The fact that my Moo-Ma is in the same room as Tater is kinda messing with my head. Life is crazy.” Jack smiles and cards his fingers through Bitty’s hair. 

“On top of all that, I suppose you’re my husband or something.” Bitty says, and Jack looks down at him. Jack cups his hand behind Bitty’s head. Bitty’s arms wrap around Jack’s neck, and they pull each other closer. “Ha, yeah Bits. I guess so.” Jack jokes. He pulls them both in, and they kiss sweet and slow. When they kissed at the altar it was brief yet electric, but this was like coming home. Jack was putty in Bitty’s soft and warm hands. 

When they pull apart, Bitty stands up and holds out a hand to Jack. He takes it and Bitty tries to pull the hockey player up off the bathroom floor, but to no avail. Jack pushes himself to his feet laughing, and turns Bitty into him. He kisses his hair, and opens the stall door. 

“After you Mr. Bittle” Bitty says with a wink. 

Jack picks Bitty up by the waist and kisses him with a loud smack to finish. 

“That will never get old. It’s kinda hot when you say it.” Jack smirks. Bittle smacks his chest. 

“Put me down! Lord, they’re gonna be suspecting the worst if we don’t head back out there soon. How indecent. My mother is here.” Bitty says. Jack laughs and takes his hand. 

Jack lets himself feel everything, and it doesn’t feel as scary when he has Bitty’s hand in his.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This prompt is vaguely taken from parvuls on tumblr (I don't know how to link ahah) I'm so sad check, please is over, so I wrote this to spend a little more time with these characters.


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